Steve and Koa
by quiet-heart
Summary: Koa has moved in. Doris loves him, Catherine fusses over him, and even Grace adores him. Steve? Not so much, especially his appetite for fresh fish! Koa is about to make things very, very interesting for Steve, and not always in a good way!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett was sound asleep and snuggled up to him was his girlfriend, Lt. Catherine Rollins. In her room, Doris McGarrett was also sound asleep. It was a warm night so the house windows were open, screens in place. What no one realized was that one screen in the living room had a small hole in it and that hole was gradually being made wider by something with sharp little claws.

_CRASH!_

Steve was awake and his gun was in his hand before he was even consciously aware of what he was doing. Catherine was already reaching for the baseball bat she had learned to keep on her side of Steve's bed.

Moving quietly, gun and bat at the ready, the couple headed downstairs. Doris was already there, a mean-looking golf club in her hands. A quick search found only a lamp on the floor, next to a screen with a good-sized hole in it, leaving Steve to cuss. After carefully shutting the window, the search resumed.

"The wind could have knocked it over," Doris suggested.

Steve wasn't convinced, but since neither he nor Catherine could find anyone or anything, he decided whoever it was, was already gone.

Or so he thought.

He had just put his gun back in its hiding place under his pillow when sharp pain suddenly lanced through the vulnerable skin of his ankle. He yelled in pain and fell back on the bed. Catherine, already there, jumped and whirled, bat at the ready.

Doris came running and was in the room when Steve flipped up the covers of his bed, using the light on his gun to see under it. He got a glimpse of golden eyes before something hissed at him and took off from under his bed.

Catherine shrieked involuntarily as something large and furry made a dive for Steve's slightly open closet.

"What the hell?" Steve demanded, adrenaline rushing through him. Something was going on here and he wasn't at all sure he liked it one bit.

Both he and Catherine carefully approached his closet, gun and bat at the ready. Using hand gestures, Steve indicated that on the count of three, Catherine was to pull open the closet door.

"One... two... three!"

Catherine yanked open the closet door and Steve turned his gun light on...

A very, very large brown cat.

The cat hissed, barring its teeth and flattening its ears, large fluffy tail twitching dangerously. This cat was the biggest cat Steve had ever seen. It didn't look like any of the really big cats, as Hawaii didn't have any of the big cats, and he was sure the Honolulu Zoo had not had any recent escapes, so it had to be a feral.

"That is one big cat," Steve muttered.

"Animal control?" Catherine suggested quietly.

"I have a better idea," Doris said. Before her son could say anything, she vanished. A moment later she reappeared, a large piece of Mahimahi (Dolphin Fish) fish on a plate in one hand.

"It's a cat and it's possibly hungry," Doris explained patiently. "So rather than scaring the poor thing with your gun, why not try and make friends with it?"

She carefully placed the plate in the closet and shoved Steve away. The trio backed away and the cat cautiously approached the fish, sniffing the air. Then it attacked the fish, devouring it hungrily while eyeing the humans with caution and suspicion.

"Now what?" Steve asked.

"Now we try to make friends with it," Doris said.

"Make friends with it?" spluttered Steve. "Mom, that is a feral cat, a very big feral cat. You don't make friends with them. That cat will shred us if we get too close."

"How would you know?" Doris scoffed. "Try," she coaxed.

Steve stared at his mother with wide eyes but she didn't back down. "Fine, I will try and make friends with it but if it attacks me, you're driving me to the hospital." He handed Catherine his gun and carefully got down on his knees, approaching the cat carefully.

"Hello, kitty," he said, carefully extending his fingers towards the cat. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. You like the fish, huh? There's plenty more where that came from," he said, continuing to use a soft, coaxing voice.

It took a few minutes before the cat carefully sniffed his fingers. A little more careful coaxing allowed Steve to scratch his chin.

"You are one big cat," he said.

After a full minute the cat allowed him to scratch his head.

"I don't think he's completely feral," Catherine said.

"I'm not so sure either," Doris admitted.

Apparently the cat decided it was safe because it left the closet and moved to the bed. With one elegant jump, it landed on the bed and curled up in the middle as if it belonged there.

Steve stared, his jaw hanging open.

"Made up your mind, have you?" Doris said easily to the cat.

"That cat is not staying here," Steve said.

"Wanna bet?" Doris said.

"That cat is not staying here!" Steve protested. He tried to move towards the cat, who only laid back his ears and hissed at him. "The cat is staying here," he quickly amended.

"We can sleep on the couch," Catherine said, dragging her boyfriend behind her.

"You win, this time, cat, but next time..." Steve threatened.

The cat just yawned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Steve couldn't breathe. He woke up, struggling to draw a breath in, and discovered two bright yellow eyes staring at him from the position of his chest. Both he and Catherine were on the couch, having pulled it out after the cat had claimed his bed. Now said cat was on his chest and he was a very, very heavy cat.

"Get off me, you damned furball," he huffed. "I can't breathe."

Beside him, Catherine giggled sleepily.

The cat rearranged himself, slapping Steve in the face with his very fluffy tail. Steve spluttered and spit, getting a mouthful of cat hair. He then twisted, trying to dislodge the cat, and yelped when the cat dug his claws in his bare chest in response.

"Bad cat!" he yelped. "Off! Now! Or no fish!" The cat jumped off and headed for the direction of the kitchen. "I can't believe I said that," he muttered, glaring at his girlfriend when she snorted with laughter.

"Well the cat moved, so now you have to get him some fish," she said.

"You want coffee to go with that?" he asked sourly.

She grinned at him. "For me or the cat?"

"I am not giving that fuzzbrain perfectly good coffee," he groused.

"Sure about that?"

He didn't answer, just got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. The cat sat in front of the fridge, tail twitching impatiently, and yowled when he saw the human.

"You want fish, buddy?"

The cat yowled again and Steve could have sworn the cat said, "NOW".

"One piece of Mahimahi coming up," he said, opening the fridge and reaching for the plate with the fish on it. The cat reached up and dabbed at the milk jug. Steve glared at the cat. "You are pushing it, buddy," he said, warningly. The cat simply did it again. When Steve only glared at him, the cat responded by suddenly swiping at his vulnerable ankle, electing a yell of pain from him.

"Okay, okay, I get the idea! You want milk and fish!" Steve snarled. "You keep this up and I'm not going to have any skin left!"

The cat got his fish and a small bowl of milk. Steve got his and Catherine's coffee and limped back to the couch, to discover his girlfriend giggling.

"What?" he asked.

"Big, tough Navy SEAL got beaten by a cat," she giggled. "Really going to do a number on your macho image."

"I'll show you my macho image," he growled, putting the coffee down and pouncing on her.

Later that day, at Five-0's headquarters, Detective Sergeant Danny Williams noticed Steve was limping.

"And what happened to you?" he asked.

"Cat," Steve muttered.

"A cat?" Danny repeated.

"Must have been a big cat," Detective Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly said, grinning.

"Damn thing is at least a meter long, from head to tail," Steve said. "Didn't know cats could get that big."

"Are you sure the zoo isn't missing any of their wonderful felines?" Danny asked.

"I checked," Steve groused. "All big cats accounted for. Seems this one made a hole in my screen window last night and made itself at home. I fed him and he wanted milk. When I didn't give it to him, he took a swipe at me."

"Did you give it to him?" Officer Kono Kalakaua asked, grinning.

"Like I had a choice?" Steve asked.

"You could take him to a vet, have him checked out," Chin suggested. "But I'll warn you; once a cat has decided your place is his place, you're not going to be able to get rid of him very easily."

"Especially not if my mom has anything to say about it," Steve muttered.

"Oh, your mom's gotten in the act, huh?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. I was told to stop by the local fish market for more fish and it's not for me," Steve said.

Kono grinned. "Might want to get friendly with some of the fishermen," she suggested. "Some of them are pretty good about giving their catch away, especially the not-so-valuable market ones."

"She's right," Chin said. "One of our cousins has a cat like that and the fishermen are always happy to give away the smaller fish that aren't worth much money on the stands."

"You also might want to get that ankle looked at," Danny suggested. "Cat claws are not exactly clean things. They have a habit of creating a nasty thing called an infection and I, for one, do not want to see you in any more pain than you already are."

"Thank you so much for caring about me," Steve said.

"Caring has nothing to do with it, trust me. If your ankle is busted up, it means I have to run twice as hard to catch the guys who do run on us. Plus it means I have to do the hard work of taking them down."

"Like I don't?" Steve groused.

"You're so much better at it," Danny said sweetly. "Plus it means less laundry for me."

Chin wisely changed the subject and turned their attention to the latest case, leaving Steve's mouth hanging open and a smirk on Danny's face.

Later that day, Steve headed back to his house to pick up the cat and take him to a local vet who said they could take him in today. Catherine was on duty and Doris was out. The cat, on the other hand, was curled up on his couch, dozing comfortably.

Grabbing a thick towel and a thicker jacket, Steve quickly grabbed the cat and hauled the yowling, hissing feline to his truck.

"In!" he snapped, shoving the cat in his truck. "We are going to the vet or I am going to put a bullet up that space under your tail!"

Growling, the cat glared at him, tail twitching and ears laid back. When Steve got in the truck, the cat tried to take a swipe at him and Steve nearly fell out of the truck in response.

"Listen, you furball! We can either see the vet, peacefully, and you can come back to my house, or we can swing by a cliff and you can see if you really can fly!" he snarled, hand on his gun.

The cat growled, but didn't take another swipe at him. Instead, he crouched in a corner of the truck and watched Steve suspiciously.

"Good." Steve got in the truck and headed for the vet. "Look, I have no problems with you, okay? I'm sure you're a nice cat and all that, but if you're going to stay at my house, we're going to have to set up some rules, okay?" The cat didn't reply. "No dead mice in my house. I really don't want to hear my mom screaming because you brought your catch home. No jumping on my bed in the early hours of the morning, especially when Catherine is with me and I'm trying to get friendly with her. No more taking a swipe at my ankle or I swear I will declaw your ass." The cat didn't say anything, just continued glaring at him. Steve got the impression the cat was still a bit indignant over having been grabbed and stuffed in a truck the way he was. Steve felt a twinge of guilt. "As soon as I find out a bit more about your physical health, meaning whether or not you've had a vasectomy or not, we will go to the fish market and get you some more fish, okay?"

At the vet, the veterinarian had one question for him. "Have you ever heard of a Maine Coon?"

"A what?" Steve asked.

"A Maine Coon," the vet, Dr. Stafford, repeated calmly. "If I'm right, this handsome fellow here is quite possibly at least part Maine Coon. They're a very large breed of cat, one of the biggest domesticated felines, also known as the Gentle Giant."

"Not so sure about the _Gentle_ part," Steve muttered, looking at his claw-shredded jacket.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing about this particular breed of cat," Dr. Stafford said, stroking the cat's big head. "Once they decide someone is their human, that person is their human, whether that person likes it or not."

"_Uh-oh_," Steve thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_The __**Maine Coon**__, also known as __**American Longhair**__, is a __breed__ of domestic __cat__ with a distinctive physical appearance and valuable hunting skills. It is one of the oldest __natural breeds__ in North America, specifically __native__ to the state of __Maine__, where it is the official __State Cat__._

_Maine Coons are one of the largest breeds of domestic cat._

_Maine Coons possess a rectangular body shape and are slow to physically mature; their full potential size is normally not reached until they are three to five years old, while other cats take about only one year._

_Maine Coons, due to their large size, have larger claws. There have been cases of Maine Coons using their claws to grip into walls._

_Maine Coons are known as the "gentle giants"__and possess above-average intelligence, making them relatively easy to train. They are known for being loyal to their family and cautious—but not mean—around strangers, but are independent and not clingy. The Maine Coon is generally not known for being a "lap cat" but their gentle disposition makes the breed relaxed around dogs, other cats, and children. They are playful throughout their lives, with males tending to be more clownish and females generally possessing more dignity, yet both are equally affectionate. Many Maine Coons have a fascination with water and some theorize that this personality trait comes from their ancestors, who were aboard ships for much of their lives. Maine Coons are also well known for yowling, chattering, chirping, "talking" (especially "talking back" to their owners), and making other loud vocalizations._

The vet and Wikipedia had been very helpful in their description and information on Steve's new companion. The cat (Steve still didn't know what to call him) was not neutered and Steve promptly made an appointment to have that done, although Dr. Stafford did strongly advise him to try and find the original owner first, as a cat like Cat could be a prized stud cat. Steve held off on the appointment.

"For now," he said, glaring at Cat, who simply started washing his ears.

_The next morning:_

Steve was sound asleep and his alarm was not due to go off for about another half an hour. He rolled over...

And woke up screaming as pain suddenly lanced through his buttocks.

Cat had decided to play and when Steve rolled over, causing the sheets to shift, he had unintentionally become his target.

"You are dead, Cat!" Steve roared.

Ears flattened, Cat took off before Steve could take a swipe at him.

When he came in to work that day and tried to sit down in his chair, his co-workers noticed he seemed to have a bit of a problem as he kept shifting uncomfortably.

"Are you okay?" Chin asked him quietly, trying to be discrete.

"Seems Cat is still a bit of a kitten," Steve muttered.

Chin grinned. "He got you."

"Yes. All four sets of claws."

"Regular pain in the ass, huh?"

Steve glared.

Later that day Steve came home to have a shower. While in pursuit of a suspect he had unintentionally taken a very unwanted dip in the ocean. Normally he had no problems with the ocean water, when he actually wanted to go swimming. Today was not one of those days.

"Hi Mom," he said in passing to his mother, who was in the kitchen.

"Hi Sweetie. I thought you weren't planning on going swimming today."

"I wasn't, but I was chasing a suspect and he apparently decided I was going swimming."

"Oh dear."

Steve was in the shower when he heard the door creak open. He cautiously stuck his head out. It was Cat. He glared at the feline.

"I don't trust you, you miserable son of a bitch," he said. He went back to washing his hair.

Cat studied Steve and then studied the toilet, which was starting to get wet from the steam of the shower. He jumped up on the toilet lid and moved to the tank lid. His foot slipped.

The toilet lever moved.

The toilet flushed.

And Steve screamed for the second time that day.

"_You! Are! Dead! Furball! Where's my gun?_"

Downstairs in the kitchen, Doris choked on her coffee. Then Cat suddenly tore in to the kitchen with a very distinct _Uh-oh!_ look on his face. He started winding himself around her ankles and purring.

"What did you do?" she asked him, reaching down to scratch his ears. "Oh, and good boy."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Dear, have you seen Cat lately?" Doris asked, coming in to the kitchen with a puzzled look on her face.

Steve shook his head. "Not really, but then again I haven't exactly been looking," he admitted, taking a mouthful of coffee. "Why?"

"It's just he went out yesterday evening and didn't come back at all last night," Doris admitted. "I know he annoys the heck out of you but I really am quite fond of him."

Steve chuckled. "Well, I can keep an eye out for him. Maybe he'll show up again."

Later that night, when Steve got home after a long day at Five-0 headquarters, he went upstairs to have a shower. As he reached in to the linen closet, he heard a funny squeaking noise coming from the bottom of the closet, where he kept spare blankets.

Eyes wide, he dropped to his knees and looked inside. A pair of tiny, pretty blue eyes stared back at him. The eyes belonged to a kitten, a very tiny, very young kitten, which was slowly waddling towards him on unsteady little legs.

The kitten squeaked again and Cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere, glaring at Steve.

"You did this?" Steve demanded, picking the kitten up. "You brought this little guy in here? Are you nuts? Just because I let you stay here doesn't mean you get to start bringing your buddies in, especially since this is just a baby!"

And the kitten was very much a baby. It was a male with bright orange fur and teeth that had only just started coming in. He was also a little on the skinny side, instead of the plump shape Steve usually associated with healthy kittens.

The kitten squeaked again. Cat looked at him, looked at the baby, and then yowled.

And Steve was hunting for his cell to call Cat's vet.

Half an hour later he was feeding one very hungry kitten specially formulated kitten food.

"You are unreal," Steve said, glaring at Cat, even as he listened to someone's phone ring.

"_What's up, brah?_" said Kamekono, owner of Kamekono's Shrimp

"Yeah, it's Steve McGarrett. I need a large order of unflavored, cooked shrimp," Steve said.

"_Sure thing, brah. Where you at?_"

"At home."

Kamekona arrived and Cat appeared, nose in the air, sniffing, and tail twitching.

"Heh! Look at you, brah!" Kamekono said, grinning at the cat. "You're a big one!" He reached down to pet Cat and the feline instantly started purring loudly. "Where did you find this handsome warrior?"

"I didn't; he found me and took over," Steve said sourly, still feeding the kitten. Kamekono laughed and headed for the kitchen, Cat following him eagerly.

"And the little guy?"

"Cat brought him home," Steve said. "Vet says he's too young to be away from his mother, if he has a mother."

"Cat?" Kamekono repeated. "What kind of name is Cat for a warrior?"

"I agree," said Doris as she came in to the kitchen. "Hello Kamekono. Nice to see you again."

"Hi Auntie," Kamekono said respectfully. "I brought special, unflavored shrimp."

"I'm guessing for the cat and our new resident," Doris said, smiling as she gently rubbed the kitten's head. The kitten let go of the bottle and suddenly burped, causing everyone to look at the tiny feline and laugh.

"That's a big burp for a little guy," Kamekono said, laughing.

The kitten squeaked sleepily. A moment later, Steve realized he had a problem; the kitten was sound asleep against his chest. He glared at Cat. "Do not bring any more of these guys home."

Cat didn't even look at him; he was too busy pigging out on a bowl of shrimp.

Then Cat, or Koa, as Kamekono called him, went out again that night...

and came back the next morning, this time with another kitten. This kitten was slightly older, very skinny, and just as hungry. She was all black, save an orange splotch on her head. Doris pureed some leftover shrimp for the kitten and the kitten devoured it like she hadn't eaten in weeks. She didn't bother telling Steve; she figured he'd find out sooner or later.

Two days later, he did, when the kitten attacked his socks from under his bed, putting sharp little baby claws in his ankle.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, holding up the kitten. He'd managed to find a foster family for the first kitten through Dr. Stafford, who had assured him the kitten was doing well and stood a very good chance. "Koa!" he yelled. "I said no more!"

"Wanna bet?" Doris asked calmly, coming in to her son's room. "I see you found Star."

"Star?" Steve repeated, staring at his mother. He winced as Star attacked his hand, chewing on his fingers, and wiggling in his grip.

"She's been eating pureed shrimp, thanks to Kamekono," Doris said. "The vet says she's healthy, just malnourished. I wonder where she came from."

The next day Steve was about to head to work when a whimpering sound caught his ears. "_Uh-oh_," he thought, following the sound outside. Then he was staring.

On the porch was Koa giving a small, scruffy puppy a bath, much to the puppy's objection.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve demanded at Koa. "You cannot keep bringing babies here, babies who need their mother!"

But there was something not quite right about the puppy, Steve realized. For one thing, he wasn't fat, like most healthy puppies. For another, his eyes were filthy and his coat wasn't much better. The puppy looked like a Jack Russell terrier, but Steve wasn't sure. All he knew was that it was a small brown and white puppy who was whimpering.

Steve was reaching for him before he even realized what he was doing. Dr. Stafford was going to love him and he was going to be late for work... _again._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The puppy had survived and been adopted by a young couple Dr. Stafford had introduced him to when he'd taken the puppy to him.

"What's going on here?" Stafford asked. "How are you finding these guys?" Stafford was a tall man with black hair and full beard. His skin was tanned and he wore a white lab coat over a brightly colored shirt.

"I'm not. You remember that large cat I brought in the first time?" Stafford nodded. "He's been bringing them to me. Something's going on. I just don't know what."

"We may have to get Animal Control and the Humane Society involved in this," Stafford cautioned.

"That's fine," Steve said.

"Your cat may have found a cattery or an animal hoarder and is bringing them to you, thinking they'll be safe," Stafford said.

"Is there anything we can do about that?"

"Honolulu and Hawaii do have some pretty stiff laws regarding animal care. If you can find out where the animals are coming from, we may be able to do something." Steve nodded. "I know some people with the Humane Society and Animal Control. I'll give them a call, let them know what you know and tell them to contact you."

"Please do," Steve said.

At work Steve was teased by his co-workers.

"Sounds like a serious case of cat-titude," Chin teased, grinning.

"Never thought I'd see the day your life was ruled by a pussy," Danny said, prompting Steve to glare at him.

"My life is not ruled by that cat," Steve shot back. "He just keeps dumping these guys on my doorstep."

"And you keep helping them," Danny said, "Which is why he keeps doing it."

"Well what am I supposed to do? Turn my back on them? I can't and you know that!"

"If that cat brings you a snake, I, for one, am running in the opposite direction and never coming back," Danny said.

"Don't like snakes, huh?" Kono asked.

"Oh I like them just fine, when there's at least a three inch piece of glass between me and the snake," Danny replied.

"Don't worry, Danny; Hawaii doesn't have any dangerous snakes, except the ones pet owners let loose and they usually don't survive very long here," Chin said easily. "There is one native species, called the Blind Snake, but most people mistake it for a worm. It's harmless."

"There's also the sea snake, which is poisonous," Steve said casually. He deliberately failed to mention that sightings of that particular snake were very, very rare.

Danny glared at him. "I hate you, you know that, right? I am never, ever taking my daughter near the ocean again."

"Danny, the chances of you running in to a sea snake are very rare," Kono assured him. "I've only seen one in my entire life and it was more afraid of us than I was of it."

"Thank you for the kind reassurance, but there's still all kinds of nasty, poisonous things in the ocean and I plan to live a long, healthy life."

"Kinda hard to do when you wear a gun and a badge," Steve said.

"No, that's not making life difficult for me, that's making life difficult for all the jackasses who would try and hurt my daughter."

"That's a long list," Steve said. "Does your shrink know about your obsession?"

"Shrink? I do not see a shrink! I do not need to see a shrink! My head gets turned inside out by you already as it is!"

Later that day, while interrogating a suspect, Steve got a phone call. It was Doris and she was frantic.

"_You need to get home right away_," she said.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"_Koa just brought home another friend and this one is in serious trouble_," Doris said. "_Come home right away and find a vet who does house calls._"

Steve looked at Danny, who looked at him, then jerked his head towards the door. "Scram. Me and Mr. Ho here will be just fine. Won't we, buddy?" Danny smiled at Mr. Ho, who swallowed visibly.

On the way out he was greeted by a heavy-set Hawaiian man in a brown uniform. The badge on his shirt identified him as being with Animal Control.

"You McGarrett?" the man asked.

"Yeah, what can I do for you?" he asked, his ear to his cell, trying to reach Dr. Stafford.

"I'm Pete Kealoha, with Animal Control. Dr. Stafford said you had a cat bringing you injured and young cats and puppies?"

"And he just brought me another one," Steve said. "I'm on my way to my place right now. You're welcome to follow me."

"Sounds good."

After the vet heard what was going on, he promised to be at Steve's home as quickly as he could. When Steve got home, it was to find Doris in the living room, fussing over a small, scared dog with a very large belly.

"She's pregnant, Steve, and she's in real bad shape," Doris admitted. "I'm too afraid to move her."

"And for good reason, ma'am," Pete said, carefully studying the dog. She looked like a Dachshund, but with a huge belly. "Hi sweetie," he said softly, snapping on gloves. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. Can I look at you?"

Koa, who was seated on the couch, watching, growled warningly.

"Easy, Koa. He won't hurt her," Steve soothed, reaching out to pet the cat, who continued to watch Pete.

"She's in bad shape," Pete said after a minute. "Her teeth, her eyes, her coat, you name it, and that's just from what I can see. Your vet is going to have a field day."

"What about the puppies?" Doris asked.

"I don't know who she mated with, but he was obviously bigger than her, because these are big puppies," Pete said. "Big puppies, small dog, bigger problem."

Steve glared at Koa. "What have you gotten me in to?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Dr. Stafford showed up, took one look at the distressed dog, and immediately called for a colleague who knew how to handle emergency surgery on dogs. He was hauling the dog out the door before he even finished his phone call.

"Anyone else?" Steve asked Koa. "You keep this up and I'm sticking a tracking collar on you."

"That might not be such a bad idea," Pete said. "From what I've just seen, it's possible your cat is rescuing these guys from either a puppy mill or a cattery, someone with no respect for their welfare. If that's the case, and we can find that person, we are legally bound to step in and rescue those animals. There would also be very serious charges brought down on that person, possibly resulting in jail time."

"This is serious stuff, huh?" Steve asked.

"Extremely. I know Five-0 goes after the bigger fish, like the drug dealers and stuff, but these guys deserve just as much of a chance as your bigger cases do."

"Yeah, you're right, you're right. Where do we start looking?"

"Follow the cat; he seems to know."

Steve nodded. "I think I know who to call." He quickly dialed Catherine. When she answered, he explained what was going on and what he needed.

"_A tracker on a collar big enough for that cat of yours?_" she repeated. "_Koa would probably wear a dog collar, not a cat collar._"

"Can it be done?"

"_I think so, yeah. Let me talk to someone, see what I can find. Koa's big enough to be sized as a small dog so, yeah; I think I know someone who can help._"

"Thanks, Cath, I appreciate it."

It took Catherine a little bit, but when she struck gold, she really struck gold. One of her contacts knew a contact who was experimenting with tracking collars on dogs. That person had just bought a Garmin Astro 320 dog tracking collar and was curious about using it on a cat the size of Koa.

Curious about the cat, and being nagged at by Grace, Danny dropped by Steve's place, his daughter in tow. Grace squealed in delight when she saw Star and giggled when Koa head-butted her.

"You are beautiful," she breathed, scratching Koa's ears, who purred louder. "I have a brush for you," she said, taking out a cat brush out of her backpack and beginning to brush him.

To Steve's surprise, Koa sat patiently as Grace brushed his long coat. That allowed Catherine to secure the tracking collar.

"Okay, this thing has a range of nine miles with about forty-eight hours of battery life," Catherine said, handing Steve the hand unit.

"He doesn't seem to go too far," Steve said, "so the cattery or puppy mill has to be around here somewhere, where we're not seeing it."

"You wouldn't, not right off hand," Danny said. "These places, they are deliberately made to look harmless. Nice looking house, nice looking people, good advertisement, all the trappings, all the good stuff. Then you go behind the doors and it's a complete reversal."

"You've seen these places?" Steve asked.

"Once, and I never, ever, ever want to see them again," Danny said. "You get dozens of animals in cages too small for them, sitting in their own feces and urine..." He shuddered at the memory. "A lot of these people are in it for the money, not the animals."

"So the money comes first, not the care of the animals," Catherine said.

"You got it," Danny said. "Personally I would just shoot the son of a bitch but there's only so much I as a cop can do to these guys."

"But surely not all breeders are like that," Steve said.

"Oh, no. There are some good people out there," Doris said, coming in to the kitchen with tea, juice, and cookies. "With the good breeders, before they even let you near one of their babies, you get a full cross examination. One lady I knew, she wanted an English Bulldog puppy. Before the breeder would even let her near the puppies, she had to fill out a questionnaire and was asked if the breeder could check out her home."

"That's pretty serious," Danny said.

"A good breeder is very serious about whom they let their puppies and kittens go to," Doris said.

Suddenly Danny yelled. Star had just climbed up the inside of his pant legs.

"Get this thing off of me!"

"What's your problem?" Steve asked, grinning. "She's just a baby."

"Can I keep her, Daddy?" Grace begged, reaching for Star.

"Talk to your Uncle Steve," Danny said smoothly.

"Talk to your mother," Steve said neatly.

_Later that night:_

"Koa's on the move," Steve said, studying the handheld GPS unit.

Koa seemed to wander for a bit but then headed for a location about half a mile away. There he stayed for about ten to fifteen minutes before slowly heading back towards the house.

"He's got someone with him," Doris said, looking over her son's shoulder. "He's moving slowly."

An hour later, Koa showed up, a thin brown kitten following him tiredly. This kitten had no tail and a flat nose, like a Persian. When Doris offered the kitten food and water, the kitten dove in.

"We have our location," Steve said, studying the GPS map. "And that means we have work to do." He looked at Koa, who looked at him, and he reached down to scratch the cat's ears. "Don't worry, buddy, we'll get to the others. I promise."

Koa yowled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"So what do we got?" Steve asked. He was at Five-0 headquarters and everyone was gathered around the computer table. He had imputed the GPS co-ordinaries from Koa's late night visit and the team had started digging.

"The location corresponds with a house on about an acre of land," Kono said, pulling up an address. "Owner of residence is supposed to be Mary Cameron."

"Supposed to be?" Steve repeated.

"We did some checking on her; she's at least 90," Chin said. "Someone is still cashing in her government pension but no one's actually seen her in a while."

"There's at least two phones registered to that house," Danny said, pulling up the information. "One belongs to several legit-looking website offering several different breeds of cats and dogs, including Maine Coons, daschunds, and Persians." He pulled up the websites.

"Just like the cats and the dog," Steve realized.

"Speaking of which, how is Momma Dog doing?" Chin asked. Steve had told them about the dog and Koa's 'friends' and they had all insisted on helping with the case.

"She survived the surgery, but all three of her puppies were still-born," Steve admitted.

Kono, Chin, and Danny winced.

"Ok, since these look like legitimate breeders and they all belong to the same number, why don't we do a soft probe?" Steve suggested. "Two of us go in as potential buyers while the rest of us scout the perimeter, see what we can find?"

"And why we would we want to do that?" came Governor Denning's cold voice as he walked towards them. "I'm sure you have plenty of other, more important cases to be investigating, rather than wasting valuable resources on a breeder."

"Because, sir, there may be a lot of animals in distress," Steve said.

"So let Animal Control handle it," Denning said.

"That's just it, sir," Steve said. "They don't have the resources that we do, and there's no way to tell exactly what kind of animals this place is holding. You know yourself there's a very big black market for illegal exotic animals on the islands." He quickly brought up the pictures of the animals Koa had rescued and detailed what he knew about each one. "Please don't ask me to turn away from them."

Denning was quiet for a moment, his eyes having gone hard and his mouth tightening. Then he asked, "what happened to the female dog?"

"Emergency cesarean, she lost all three of her puppies," Steve said. "Otherwise, Dr. Stafford, the vet we're working with, says she's ok, just badly malnourished and frightened. If he can get her to a good family, she has a chance."

"And the others?"

"Holding steady for now," Steve said. "We don't know how many more there are, but if the ones Koa brought are any indication, they won't be in much better shape."

"How much of a chance do you have at finding them?"

"Thanks to Koa wearing a tracking collar, we found the place. We were planning on a soft probe for now," Steve said.

"Do it, and keep me appraised."

"Yes, sir."

"Make sure you bring in Animal Control and SPCA."

"Already in the works, sir."

Denning nodded sharply and left as abruptly as he had arrived.

"Me thinks the Big Man doesn't like what he just saw," Danny said.

When Pete Kealoha heard about what Five-0 was planning on, he was quite happy to join them. "I think I know the place you're talking about," he said. "We've had a number of complaints about them but nothing we could ever prove."

"We're planning on a two-fold soft probe," Danny explained. "Two of us will go to the front like potential customers while the rest of us check out the rest of the property. We could use someone who knows what to look for in case we do find something or someone."

"Count me in," Pete said eagerly. "Just say when and where."

"Let's call them from a number that can't be traced back to any of us," Chin suggested. "If it's a black market business, these people are going to be paranoid."

"I have a niece who looks like you and she has her own cell number," Pete said, indicating Kono.

"Think she'll help us?" Kono asked.

"She's a volunteer at the Honolulu SPCA and already making plans to become a veterinarian; yeah, I think she'll help us," Pete said, grinning. "She once beat a guy up for beating up on a dog when she was fifteen."

"My kind of girl," Steve said. "Call her."

The probe was set up. Pete's niece was happy to help and eagerly played the part of a girl wanting a kitty over the phone. Chin was elected to play "daddy" while Steve, Danny, and Pete scouted the area. They would hit the very next day.

That night Koa went out again. When he came home the next morning, it was with another puppy. Steve just looked at him, looked at the puppy, and gave the puppy a bath before turning it over to the SPCA, or at least he tried to. Instead, he ran in to Kamekona on the way, who was with one of his many cousins. The cousin, a big man with a bigger heart and gentle hands, immediately claimed the puppy, calling it Kunokine, or Sunshine in Hawaiian. Steve was not arguing with the man. Instead, he left the newly named puppy with him, satisfied that the big Hawaiian would take care of it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Oh!" Kono squealed, scooping up one of the kittens that had come to investigate her shoe. "Aren't you just the cutest itty bitty little baby kitty?" she cooed, rubbing the kitten's soft fur.

Kono and Chin were at the breeder's house, a woman who called herself Alana Cameron. The house looked presentable and the kittens, beautiful Persians, looked healthy, but both Kono and Chin knew appearances could be deceiving.

"Oh, Daddy!" Kono whined to Chin, cuddling the kitten.

Listening in, both Danny and Steve groaned.

"This is hilarious," Pete said, grinning.

"Let's move," Steve said.

They were parked about five minutes from the house, where the owner couldn't see them. With both Chin and Kono in full view and hopefully commanding center stage, Steve, Danny, and Pete would go around and check out the back of the property. The plan was to try and gather enough evidence to secure a warrant and hopefully find the distressed animals.

While Chin badgered Alana with questions about Persian cats and their health, Steve, Danny, and Pete quickly made their way through the brush and undergrowth. The back of the property was not within view of the house but the house was nearby. It was surrounded by a high chain-link fence with barbed wire at the top.

"Not the most friendly looking of places," Danny said, looking around.

And it wasn't. The yard, if one could call it that, was all dirt and reeked of feces. There was plenty of barking and plenty of kennels, all too small for the dogs they were supposed to be confining. None of them had suitable shelter or enough food and water. There was a large shed just off to one side and a quick scale of the fence to a window near the wire revealed it contained numerous cats.

Pete, who was looking in, was mad and getting madder. "No proper liter boxes, food and water at the minimum, place is filthy..."

"Any idea how Koa is getting these guys out?" Danny asked.

"Got to be a break in the fence somewhere," Steve said, studying the fence line.

"Over here," Danny suddenly said, noticing a hole near the bottom of the cat house and a bit of a ditch going under the ground. The soil was soft, which made for easy digging. "Looks like this was how he was getting the cats out and probably how he got out too."

"One tough kitty," Pete said.

"Looks like that's how he got the other dogs out too," Steve said, checking the fence line further down.

One dog in particular caught Pete's attention. "Anyone got a shovel or wire cutters?" he asked, trying to pet a German Shepherd dog who was whining pitifully and clawing at the fence.

"You're serious," Danny said incredulously, watching as Steve got out a folding camp shovel and started digging in to the soil under the fence. "This has got to be the most insane thing you've ever done, you realize that, right? You are essentially stealing a dog and we, as cops, could get busted for that!"

Steve just looked at him. "You gonna help or not?"

"Help? Fine, I'll help but if that dog bites me I am sending you the hospital bill," Danny said, attacking the fence.

Between the three of them, they managed to coax the painfully thin male dog under the fence. Pete snapped a short leash on the dog, who tried to cover him with dog slobber in gratitude.

"You seen enough?" Steve asked.

"More than," Pete said. "Let's bring this place down."

"Let's scram," Danny said, spotting someone, a scrawny-looking haole heading towards them.

Back at the surveillance van, Pete offered the dog water and a meat sandwich, both of which vanished in a hurry.

Chin and Kono rejoined them a few minutes later, Chin with a sheepish look on his face.

"Alana Cameron knows next to nothing about Persians," Kono said. "She was more interested in how fast we could pay her for the kitten. She also tried to suggest that if we didn't take it, someone else would."

"A good breeder wouldn't do that," Pete said.

"What's in your coat, Chin?" Steve asked.

Grinning, Chin carefully opened his jacket to reveal a sleeping grey kitten, about six to eight weeks old. "Found him outside and we made friends," he admitted. "I did promise my wife a kitten before she died."

"And this is your way of keeping that promise?" Danny asked disbelievingly.

Chin just smiled and rubbed the kitten's soft head. "You are certifiably insane, you know that right?"

"And we got company," Steve said, watching as a police car pulled up to the van and Chin's car.

An HPD officer got out and made his way to the van. Before he could knock, Steve opened the window and flashed his badge.

"Five-0," he said. "What's the problem, officer?"

"Officer Jackson, sir. I saw your vehicle earlier and wanted to make sure everything was okay. Is there anything I need to be aware of?" the officer, a man in his late thirties with dusky skin and dark hair, asked.

"Just finished doing some surveillance on a house just down the road from here," Steve said. "You know anything about it?"

"The Cameron place?" Jackson asked. When Steve nodded, the officer shook his head. "Pretty quiet, aside from the occasional barking, but nothing worth noticing." Then he spotted something. "Who's that with you?" he asked, pointing at the German Sheppard who had chosen that moment to stick his head out the window.

"The reason why we were checking out that place in the first place," Steve said. He explained what was going on and the officer started to get mad. He reached up to pet the dog and a look came in to his eyes.

"Before I came to the island I had a partner much like this fellow," Jackson admitted, petting the dog, who responded eagerly to the attention.

"He's going to need help and a home," Steve said.

"You said you took him from the Cameron place?" Jackson asked. Steve nodded. "No, you didn't. I found him."

Steve blinked, glanced at Pete and his friends, who either smiled or, in Danny's case, sighed heavily.

"I know nothing," Pete said.

"You are all cuckoo," Danny muttered, opening the back of the van to let Steve and the dog out.

The dog immediately went to the cop and sat in front of him, whining.

Jackson searched the trunk of his car for some rope and used it for a make-shift leash on the dog. Then, after being promised he would be kept in the loop about the Cameron house, he left with the dog, who looked fairly ecstatic to be going with the officer.

"That's one more dog who just found his Forever Home," Pete said happily.

"I sure hope so," Kono said. "What are you going to call this little guy?" she asked Chin, referring to the stolen kitten.

"I don't know yet," Chin admitted.

"I do know we have enough evidence to get a warrant for that place," Pete said.

"Then let's get it and raid it," Steve said. "We're gonna need everyone you can spare, plus back up."

"As soon as you get the warrant, I'll get my guys."

"And I'm getting a shot in the ass," Danny groused.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The warrant was granted and the raid was set up. The plan was to execute the warrant in the early hours of the morning, just after dawn, to catch Alana Cameron and her companion off-guard.

The execution of the warrant went off without a hitch.

Sort of.

It was complete and total chaos.

Between the indignant Alana Cameron, who was protesting her rights, her elderly mother who was in the late stages of dementia and thought the Japanese were attacking all over again, and Alana's brother, Tyler, the law had their hands full.

For some reason Tyler decided to run. For Danny and Steve that would have been an easy work out had it not rained heavily the previous night, resulting in extremely muddy ground.

Tyler ran. Danny and Steve gave chase. They had him, one on each side, and were attempting to get him down when Kono tried to help by tackling him.

Mud went everywhere.

Even with Kono's help, Tyler was still a handful, yelling obscenities at them and fighting.

Then Koa suddenly appeared out of nowhere, yowling loudly. He attacked Tyler, sinking his claws in to Tyler's buttocks and whatever else he could reach. Understandably, Tyler started howling in pain, trying to get away from the angry feline. Koa, being a rather large Maine Coon, was a bit more of a handful than his smaller counterparts, especially his claws and teeth, both of which he used to great effect on Tyler.

The upshot of it was Steve, Danny, Kono, and Tyler got covered in thick, gooey mud. Tyler had to be taken to a hospital to be treated for Koa's attack, with promises from the HPD that he would be arrested and taken in to custody the moment he was released from the hospital.

Unfortunately for Steve, his day with mud was not over yet.

When they served the warrant, a search of the premises revealed over a dozen dogs in distress, possibly more. Steve, trying to help the Animal Control officers, who numbered about four, including Pete, took the leashes of at least six dogs to take them to the waiting Animal Control and SPCA vehicles.

Koa appeared and Steve would later swear that the cat had deliberately teased the dogs.

The dogs got excited.

Steve swore.

Koa took off.

And Steve found himself being dragged through the mud, chest down, as he held on to six dogs for dear life while they suddenly chased after Koa, who darted neatly up a palm tree, yelling the whole way.

"You're never going to get the mud out of those clothes," Chin said sympathetically as he helped Steve up.

Steve just groaned, his ribs and arms already starting to hurt, not to mention his knees and thighs. The only thing that had saved his shirt from being shredded was his Kevlar vest and even that wasn't in good shape at the moment.

"I hate dogs," he muttered. "And I really, really hate cats. Especially you, furball!" he growled at Koa.

From his perch up in the tree, Koa simply started washing his ears as if he didn't have a care in the world.

In the end over three dozen cats and kittens were rescued, all of them in varying stages of health and none of it good. The remains of at least a dozen animals were found behind the fence, in a different section, in varying stages of decay.

As for the dogs, some of them were with puppies, and all of them in poor health. The on-site vet, Dr. Stafford and two of his colleagues, Dr. Sulu and Dr. Noohan, were evaluating the animals with the help of their assistants, and the prognosis for some of the animals was not good. Due to various health issues, some of them contagious and deadly to the animal or other animals, some were going to have to be put down. It was not something anyone wanted to think about, but it was necessary.

The raid made the news and eventually, so did Koa. Steve let it slip that Koa was the one who had started rescuing the animals from the Cameron house and someone got it in to their head that the cat was a hero and should be hailed as such.

Steve wasn't so sure, not after the one day Koa managed to sneak in to his truck. Before he knew it, he was at Five-0 headquarters and nearly involved in an accident along the way when Koa suddenly appeared and stuck his tail up the commander's nose.

"Are you deliberately trying to give me a heart attack?" he demanded to the cat.

Koa just looked at him and started washing his ears.

At Headquarters Steve reluctantly brought Koa in. He would later regret it when a delivery messenger came in and accidentally stood on Koa's tail.

Rather than apologize to the feline, the messenger glared at Koa and snapped, "Beat it, furball."

Normally Steve would have chastened the guy, especially when said guy reached out with his foot to kick Koa out of the way, except Koa got there first with his claws and teeth.

The more the fool messenger tried to remove the angry feline, the more Koa dug in.

In the end, the messenger's pants were shredded, especially in the area of his ankle and groin. Chin, Kono, and Danny were useless, unless one counted as a laugh track, and Steve was humiliated beyond belief. His ears were also ringing from the messenger's high-pitched shrieks of pain, which was understandable, given the situation.

That was then. This was now, and Koa was being hailed as a hero, with the governor's office being besieged with letters, e-mails, and phone calls about it.

Finally, Denning gave in and, after consulting with Steve, held a very public award ceremony for Koa. Denning even had Koa taken to a high-class pet grooming parlor, where he was bathed, brushed, and pampered as well as any feline could be.

Even the Honolulu SPCA joined in, working with Denning to bring more awareness to their various programs.

"It's a dog and pony show," Denning admitted to the Five-0 team, "but it keeps the public happy and if the public is happy, my job and your jobs are safe."

When all was said and done, Koa got his medal, pictures got taken, and the SPCA suddenly saw a sharp rise in animal adoptions that day, as well as donations.

As for Steve, he got to go home with island's current famous cat.

**Later that night:**

A scream rents the air. Then:

_"Koa, you're dead! That was my nuts, you freaking furball!"_

**The End... for now.**


End file.
